"GRAD,NIGHTMARE. 2015

undertheseas · May 31, 2015

We just came home after a trip that had a couple of grad nights and the kids were better behaved than what we saw in 2013. It was super busy, almost more than we could bear, but we saw more outrageous adults than kids. One mother sent her small child to walk in front of me at WOC and then said "I have to get my child" and preceded try to stand there with another older kid until I said something about waiting for 2 hours for that spot and they could not stay there. The only time we saw something was on our way one evening to use a FP at Space Mtn and a cast member pulled two girls aside and said "what did I tell you two?" and made them leave. I asked my husband what happened, he said they were running up the ramp and the CM told them to stop running which they didn't and then they were trying to cut in line so the CM kicked them out. Good for her but I really could have used her help with some adults in other lines. So while grad nights last week were bad, our real complaint was just the sheer number of people more than misbehaving kids. Navigating our stroller through the sea of people was terrible, my poor husband was a trooper. Just be ready for the crowds and use all the tips you have heard before (get there early, use the FP, etc) and you will be OK.

oklamomof4boys · Jun 1, 2015

We were there this past week. I think 3 or 4 of our 5 nights were grad nights. I was really nervous about it but couldn't change our dates. Maybe we were just lucky but we didn't notice any problems. Yes, it probably made it more crowded but I really didn't notice any difference in crowd level on the non grad nights. We did WOC on a non grad night and BB Fantasmic on a grad night. We didn't have problems with either. We left DCA by about 8:00pm on the grad nights

mr.bungle · Jun 1, 2015

It's been 15 years since my grad night but I don't think we even got to DL until 9 or 10 at night and I think, but don't quote me, the park was closed to the public by that point. There was no CA adventure back then.

LALA8971 · Jun 1, 2015

I don't get it, at all. We were down there for a choir trip when I was a Junior in HS and one of our smaller groups was kicked out of the park for their behavior. They cut in front of people and were smoking outside of the designated area. 2 reports and they were outta there!

emily94 · Jun 1, 2015

I was a grad who attended in 2013... I can definitely see how people there blame everything on the grad events. I always heard parents and other adults complaining about the lines, behavior, etc. We were there on Memorial Day weekend of 2013... There was bound to be lines anyway! And people (adults, families) were definitely causing a scene when they found out DCA would be closed just for us. I definitely understand how a few bad apples ruin the whole bunch. But there could be inappropriately behaved teenagers whatever time of year it is. Just some food for thought

PP - I hope you don't cancel your trip! This would be completely the wrong reason to cancel something so fun and what you've been looking forward to!

tarheelalum · Jun 1, 2015

The reason these kids are acting this way is due to Disney's lack of enforcement of some sort of code of conduct. Lets face it, a lot of these kids are nothing more than children in adult bodies and when you get a bunch of kids together, without the proper supervision, some of them are going to act like loud jerks and a sort of a roving mob mentality ensues. If DL would kick the bad kids out real quick when they get of of line, you would see far less of this type of behavior. As it stands now, DL does not appear to do much anything to them, and they know it, so they get a pass to run around all night and ruin a lot of peoples day at Disneyland. This in return gives the impression that all of the kids are bad, and with that comes, a general disgust of grad nights at DL.

I feel this is all 100% Disneyland's fault. If they are going to have these grad nights they are going to have to put on the big pants and kick out the unruly kids. If they refuse to do so they should cancel the whole thing altogether.

wenrob · Jun 1, 2015

tarheelalum said:
The reason these kids are acting this way is due to Disney's lack of enforcement of some sort of code of conduct. Lets face it, a lot of these kids are nothing more than children in adult bodies and when you get a bunch of kids together, without the proper supervision, some of them are going to act like loud jerks and a sort of a roving mob mentality ensues. If DL would kick the bad kids out real quick when they get of of line, you would see far less of this type of behavior. As it stands now, DL does not appear to do much anything to them, and they know it, so they get a pass to run around all night and ruin a lot of peoples day at Disneyland. This in return gives the impression that all of the kids are bad, and with that comes, a general disgust of grad nights at DL.

I feel this is all 100% Disneyland's fault. If they are going to have these grad nights they are going to have to put on the big pants and kick out the unruly kids. If they refuse to do so they should cancel the whole thing altogether.

It's not Disneyland's job to hold these kids to a code of conduct, that would be their chaperone's job. If these kids are not technically breaking any of Disney's rules what exactly do you propose they do about it? "Hey kids, um, quit acting, uh, not so magical." :confused3

There's no Disneyland rules against acting like a bunch of hyped up teenagers.

FWIW I've seen groups of teens AND adults (last summer we walked passed a couple having a full out screaming match mfing each other) acting fools in Disneyland. People acting fools may be annoying but really there isn't anything that can be done about it.

offwithyourhead · Jun 2, 2015

wenrob said:
The OP said they were smoking, giving the impression it was all over the parks but I've seen people make a huge fuss about people smoking as they walk by the designated smoking areas. Part of the problem is they are making the areas smaller and smaller

I hate the Disneyland smoking areas. I don't smoke and the size and placement of them is just awful. They need to be away from people far more than they currently are.

The worst one I think is the one exiting Frontier Land into Fantasyland. It's a narrow funnel that traffic has to walk through anyway, the fact that there is an unavoidable smoking section RIGHT THERE sucks.

elmoandzoey · Jun 2, 2015

So I've been following this thread to get an idea what exactly grad night is and what is bound to happen in case I ever decide to come to DL again in May/June. I have to say - I was just in DL for the first time for a 5 day trip. None of those days were grad nights. But - everything that has happened to people here on grad night has happened to me on a non-grad night, too! Foul language, hyped up, drunk and out of control teenagers, line cutting.... I have never been on a grad night so I can't compare in person but from what I've read here I think it's more of a general problem with kids and teens being let loose at the parks - grad night or not. Worst example - a group of teens (and I am pretty sure they were either high or drunk) decided to "rock the boat!" So there's 4 teenage boys in the row behind me on IASW and a family with a toddler in front of me and these boys stand up and start rocking the boat! One jumped rows to the very back so two in each row could rock the boat. Not very funny, especially with the little one in the boat. They were met by Security at the loading dock and taken care of. So are these incidents really isolated to grad night or was my experience a one of a kind?

mrcricket · Jun 2, 2015

We are going to be at Disneyland on the 3rd - 6th and will experience two grad nights while there. I'm going into with a positive attitude and believe early morning touring will be fine, as most teenagers don't like getting out of bed until noon anyway. Also, I've been to WDW while all the Brazilian youth trips are happening, and those folks can be a rowdy bunch and take over a theme park easily. But, I still had a good time, because, hey, I'm at Disney which is way better than being at work.

TechGuy · Jun 2, 2015

i was reading the comments here and I also read the GradNight guide. The students attending Grad Night must arrive in a bus/van/car driven by the chaperone attending the GN with the students. Students may not drive themselves. There must be 2 each 25-year old+ adults per 20 kids and they must be accessible by cell phone the entire time of the party and the chaperone must stay in-park the entire GN. When the students get out of the van, the Anaheim PD and DL security do a check of all student and chaperone bags using canines. Then the students and chaperones enter the park. I don't believe the average guest at DLR has full bag inspection and a canine drug check by the APD before entering the park.

We act like Grad Night is the only day we have problems with disrespectful people in DLR. It's not, we have respect issues every day by parents/adults/teens/kids/CM/... and on GN, we seem to be hyper vigilant. I am not saying GN doesn't have it's issues; It does. But, I still believe it's partially a perception issue and partially a behavior issue. DL seems to do as much as it can; but it can't be in all places at all times.

I wonder if going back to the overnight Grad Nights would be a better plan but I am sure there are other issues with doing that.

lorijohnhill · Jun 2, 2015

Yes, much of the poor behavior happens all the time at DLR (or anywhere for that matter) and by adults and teens alike. However, the massive roar of multiple hundreds of teens screaming (repeatedly) and the extremely loud, repeated banging of the trash cans I have only experienced on the two Grad Nites on my recent trip.

coaches24 · Jun 2, 2015

I get that the yelling and banging can be annoying but again it's only an isolated incident and not what the majority of grads are doing. I would just walk away and forget it if I see that kind of thing. No way would it ever affect my day at the park. And certainly not worth avoiding grad nights IMO.

lorijohnhill said:
Yes, much of the poor behavior happens all the time at DLR (or anywhere for that matter) and by adults and teens alike. However, the massive roar of multiple hundreds of teens screaming (repeatedly) and the extremely loud, repeated banging of the trash cans I have only experienced on the two Grad Nites on my recent trip.

Mabel67 · Jun 2, 2015

offwithyourhead said:
I hate the Disneyland smoking areas. I don't smoke and the size and placement of them is just awful. They need to be away from people far more than they currently are.

The worst one I think is the one exiting Frontier Land into Fantasyland. It's a narrow funnel that traffic has to walk through anyway, the fact that there is an unavoidable smoking section RIGHT THERE sucks.

Why? What bothers you so much about the smoking area? How long are you actually there? The reason for banning smoking in certain areas is the presumed health affects of second hand smoke. But that's from repeated long term exposure. Simply walking past someone smoking for 30 seconds of your life isn't likely to harm your health. And if you're that fragile there are alternate routes to avoid these areas.

So I am left to presume that your indignation is attributable to the smell? Well let me tell you I have been forced to stand in line with many many people and their children who obviously didn't bathe that day. And that smell is far more unpleasant and unavoidable. I can sit in a restaurant that's no smoking but how do I possibly avoid the unwashed masses???

The point is that we all encounter something unpleasant along our life paths. Suck it up and deal. We can't control everything nor should we expect rules to cover every unpleasantries we may encounter. It's called being human. No I don't smoke. But I do know some fabulous intelligent articulate people that do. And they all bathe daily.

PinkBudgie · Jun 2, 2015

Mabel67 said:
Why? What bothers you so much about the smoking area? How long are you actually there? The reason for banning smoking in certain areas is the presumed health affects of second hand smoke. But that's from repeated long term exposure. Simply walking past someone smoking for 30 seconds of your life isn't likely to harm your health. And if you're that fragile there are alternate routes to avoid these areas.

So I am left to presume that your indignation is attributable to the smell? Well let me tell you I have been forced to stand in line with many many people and their children who obviously didn't bathe that day. And that smell is far more unpleasant and unavoidable. I can sit in a restaurant that's no smoking but how do I possibly avoid the unwashed masses???

The point is that we all encounter something unpleasant along our life paths. Suck it up and deal. We can't control everything nor should we expect rules to cover every unpleasantries we may encounter. It's called being human. No I don't smoke. But I do know some fabulous intelligent articulate people that do. And they all bathe daily.

I'm not the one who made the comment but wanted to add that I have asthma and second hand smoke triggers it. So it is more than just annoying to me and I try to hold my breath when walking through a smoking area. That said, I'd rather they had a spot to go to than smoke anywhere so I'm not going to complain. Just wanted to give a reason of why someone might object. (strong perfume also triggers it and there is no perfume section!

)

Grad night and end of year school trips and unblocked socal APs are the reason we don't go to DLR in June. We like July best. However, we often notice summer "day camps" take trips to DLR- usually on Wednesdays but not always. This are large groups of kids ranging in ages from about 8 to 12 years old, chaperoned by two 18 to 20 year olds who have no control over the children. We go the other way when we see these groups coming or allow a large space in lines between us and them. But if June was the only time we go, we'd still go. It wouldn't stop us if we had a trip planned. I just prefer July.

sweethannah · Jun 2, 2015

Mabel67 said:
Why? What bothers you so much about the smoking area? How long are you actually there? The reason for banning smoking in certain areas is the presumed health affects of second hand smoke. But that's from repeated long term exposure. Simply walking past someone smoking for 30 seconds of your life isn't likely to harm your health. And if you're that fragile there are alternate routes to avoid these areas.

So I am left to presume that your indignation is attributable to the smell? Well let me tell you I have been forced to stand in line with many many people and their children who obviously didn't bathe that day. And that smell is far more unpleasant and unavoidable. I can sit in a restaurant that's no smoking but how do I possibly avoid the unwashed masses???

The point is that we all encounter something unpleasant along our life paths. Suck it up and deal. We can't control everything nor should we expect rules to cover every unpleasantries we may encounter. It's called being human. No I don't smoke. But I do know some fabulous intelligent articulate people that do. And they all bathe daily.

Chill out. All that because somebody didn't like the placement of the current smoking areas. Take a page from your own book - suck it up and deal. Nobody is saying smokers aren't intelligent.

dtnrhi · Jun 2, 2015

Mabel67 said:
Why? What bothers you so much about the smoking area? How long are you actually there? The reason for banning smoking in certain areas is the presumed health affects of second hand smoke. But that's from repeated long term exposure. Simply walking past someone smoking for 30 seconds of your life isn't likely to harm your health. And if you're that fragile there are alternate routes to avoid these areas.

So I am left to presume that your indignation is attributable to the smell? Well let me tell you I have been forced to stand in line with many many people and their children who obviously didn't bathe that day. And that smell is far more unpleasant and unavoidable. I can sit in a restaurant that's no smoking but how do I possibly avoid the unwashed masses???

The point is that we all encounter something unpleasant along our life paths. Suck it up and deal. We can't control everything nor should we expect rules to cover every unpleasantries we may encounter. It's called being human. No I don't smoke. But I do know some fabulous intelligent articulate people that do. And they all bathe daily.

I'm always afraid I'm going to end up smelling like smoke and get a $150 charge at my hotel. Also, on windy days like earlier this month, the smoke carries. We were over by Ariel's and the smoke was traveling there from the GRR smoking zone for the better part of the afternoon. I don't smoke, and shouldn't have to be inconvenienced by people that do.

And what does it matter to you why somebody doesn't like smoking? It's a preference, and if you don't like the smell of people, you could always just stay home and keep your judgements to yourself. pixiedust:

------

On a related note, it is SUPER busy today in Disneyland, and the grads are out in force. I'm not a fan of the groups roaming (running) around the parks and screaming. In the room at the moment, but are probably going to go back for the fireworks and 11:00 parade.

NavyDad01 · Jun 2, 2015

dtnrhi said:
I'm always afraid I'm going to end up smelling like smoke and get a $150 charge at my hotel. Also, on windy days like earlier this month, the smoke carries. We were over by Ariel's and the smoke was traveling there from the GRR smoking zone for the better part of the afternoon. I don't smoke, and shouldn't have to be inconvenienced by people that do.

And what does it matter to you why somebody doesn't like smoking? It's a preference, and if you don't like the smell of people, you could always just stay home and keep your judgements to yourself.

------

On a related note, it is SUPER busy today in Disneyland, and the grads are out in force. I'm not a fan of the groups roaming (running) around the parks and screaming. In the room at the moment, but are probably going to go back for the fireworks and 11:00 parade.

I'm sorry but that is a stretch! I highly doubt you are going to have that much of a smoke stench by simply walking by someone that you will get fined.

Maybe I didn't read what you said correctly, so I apologize if I did.

momtohms · Jun 3, 2015

I was there last week and on three of the grad nights (26th, 27th, and 29th) and if I hadn't of known they were grad nights I would've just assumed it was a coincidence of multiple school groups having end of the year field trips! The groups of grads I did notice were funny, polite, and not at all rude or pushy. There was one group of guys who I saw several times walking around yelling out a "hey!" or "woah!" to any other grad groups they saw but it was all in good fun. I was also there on a non-grad night (28th) and didn't notice an overly huge difference in the crowds, and honestly we saw way more rude behavior and blocking of pathways and foul language from the bat day participants on Sunday the 31st than we ever saw from any grads. I went in thinking the worst and was surprised at how much it wasn't a huge deal and how well behaved the HS kids I saw were compared to the horror stories I'd read. Sorry you did not have the same experience though

taffy · Jun 3, 2015

As I said before I feel people here are always blaming teenagers for all the wrongs of Disneyland . For me I have experienced more bad behaviour from adults with "line saving" (polite way of saying adult queue jumping

and general rude behaviour than what I have seen kids do.

The way I have heard adults talk to teenagers is shocking just because they were kids on my last few trips .

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